New Sikh school approved in UK

London: A new Sikh school will open in the British metropolitan county of West Midlands as part of a wave of free schools announced by the UK government.

The British Sikh School will be opened in Wolverhampton town by September 2015 as part of the government's free school system, which functions on an independent state-funded model.

It is one of 35 new free schools across England approved by UK education secretary Nicky Morgan and will offer education to up to 840 pupils aged 11 to 19.

A Department of Education spokesperson said: "The school in Wolverhampton is a faith ethos school which will be based on Sikh principles but will be equally welcoming to all children regardless of their faith.

"The school will offer a rich and varied curriculum including English, maths, science and technology at its core but will also provide an extensive range of vocational courses from engineering, media studies, through to health and social care to meet the demands of local employers."

Recently, another new Sikh school - Seva School - began term in Coventry, also in the West Midlands, with 130 four to seven-year-old pupils, with plans to increase to 1,450 four to 16-year-olds over the next five years.
The region has a significant Sikh population and has felt the need for schools geared towards the local community's needs.

Free Schools are state-funded schools that are independent of local authority control.

They have the freedom to decide the length of the school day and term, the curriculum, teachers' pay and how they spend their budgets.

The first Sikh ethos, multi-faith school to open in the Midlands was Nishkam Primary School in Handsworth.
Another Sikh primary school, Anand Primary School, in Wolverhampton, was taken over by the Nishkam School Trust this year.